Professor explains impact of bandana mask for black men during COVID-19 pandemic

LOS ANGELES - As more Americans are wearing facial coverings due to the COVID-19 outbreak, one professor shares his concern for black men wearing bandana masks.

Peter Harper, a professor at CSU Channel Islands, says as a black man, he has a concern for his safety.

Harper made a Youtube video on how to make a cheap facial covering with a bandana. He says that if you come from certain cultures, it matters which colors you wear and how you wear that bandana.

RELATED: Stay up to date on all coronavirus-related information

To avoid colors associated with gangs or raise criminal suspicions based on stereotypes, he demonstrated how he wears a lime green bandana for a facial covering.

Harper produced the video just days after the CDC called for facial coverings.

He noted that not everyone is able to afford a face mask or had access to a sewing machine. He also demonstrated how to fold a bandana so it doesn't look like you're "about to rob" the place and also expressed concern about past police killings of unarmed black men. 

Harper is a married father of two. He's a musician as well as an art professor.

He said he believes the coronavirus crisis is a matter of socioeconomics with different meanings for different cultures.

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